Catchy Pop from The Zells

It’s Friday, and on Friday’s you deserve a good solid guitar driven slacker anthem, something that casually catches your ear and takes you into a weekend of blissed out fun. In regards to this Zells tune, I love the seeming crunchiness of the guitar sound, though it gets spliced by a nice little guitar noodle starving for attention; it’s matched by the vocals, with a backing vocal also grabbing for that star, grabbing for your ear. It would seem that all this would work against success, but somehow, the band manage to make it sound like a joyous pop number that burrows deep into your soul. Their No More Heroes EP will be out on October 11th courtesy of Crafted Sounds.

Pop Rocker from Spooled Up

This year I’ve just been having a blast, kicking back and letting the tunes come my way. Of course, this means I’m traveling back to my youthful tendencies and looking to turn the stereo up and await the grins. Maryland outfit Spooled Up have crafted the perfect little pop number to satiate my pop rocking needs! The song hits you fast and heavy, with huge riffs and this sort of wonky vocal delivery that gives the song a nice little bounce. But, just as you’re expecting the band to bound off down the road, they pull things all the way back, breaking into a crunchy breakdown. You’ll find this track on the band’s new Strange World EP, out on June 8th via Crafted Sounds.

 

The Lopez Share Sell It

It’s Monday and you’re likely catching up on the endless scroll of tunes across the Internet as you settle into your work week. Odds are, you’re likely bored, thinking it all sounds the same, so why not try on something just a slight bit different…the Lopez. The Pittsburgh duo are all about crafting joy in your world, through their own pop kaleidoscope; they sort of take bits and pieces from Sleigh Bells, CSS and Go-Team, mix it all up, then sort of say “fuck it, we’ll go our own way.” What you get is anthemic danceable pop music with a whole lot of bite. The band will drop Heart Punch on May 11th.

Flower Crown Announce Sundries

The days seem longer of late, which always has me in a permanent state of daydreaming. Today, I found the perfect soundtrack tune to those dreams when Flower Crown announced their new LP, Sundries. It’s that sort of melancholic guitar pop with just a hint of bedroom recording thrown in for good measure. The vocals come across like whispers from a ghost, sort of haunting the song’s mix as the guitars sparkle sharply. There’s a few moments when I feel a certain pop sensibility swell that resembles Michael Stipe, but maybe that’s just my old ears. Anyways, Sundries sounds promising already; it will be released May 24th via Crafted Sounds.

The Zells Share Brand New Video

During the busy fall release schedule, we perhaps neglected to tell you about the great Failure to Slide LP from the Zells. A few months on, a tour and some shows behind them, the band have shared a new video for standout track, “Tracy.” This song reflects the band’s devotion to 90s slacker rock, but perhaps hitting home for me is the band’s natural exuberance recording/playing together; it comes out in so many moments on this track. And, as if they knew what I was thinking, they crafted a video built around their times on the road supporting the record; it’s always endearing to see the fun a group has together on tour. There’s a few copies of their album left over at Crafted Sounds, where you can stream the record as well!

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